Nchọ
Prize(s):
WINNER 2026 PRODUCT DESIGN / Homeware & Decoration
Lead Designer(s) Name(s):Zoë Chinonso Ene
Design Team / Other designer(s):Homenkà Design Ltd.
Other Contributor(s):Wellform Group
Manufacturer Name:Jan Hendzel Studio
Photo Credit:Christian Cassiel
Project Location:Nigeria, United Kingdom
Design Status:Prototype
Website: View
Product Description:
Nchọ is a beloved strategy game (globally known as mancala & coined here after its shortened, onomatopoeic Igbo name) that has been a staple in family homes across Nigeria & wider Africa, expressed through diverse typologies & used in varied dialects within a shared grammar of play. Though inspired by the vast approaches to board design across Africa, Nchọ is the result of an intentional engagement with the woodworking traditions of the Igbo people. Most importantly, Nchọ was designed to be reintroduced into the home – especially the Nigerian home – as an heirloom object, keeping warm memories alive through new tactile encounters.
Nchọ is a beloved strategy game (globally known as mancala & coined here after its shortened, onomatopoeic Igbo name) that has been a staple in family homes across Nigeria & wider Africa, expressed through diverse typologies & used in varied dialects within a shared grammar of play. Though inspired by the vast approaches to board design across Africa, Nchọ is the result of an intentional engagement with the woodworking traditions of the Igbo people. Most importantly, Nchọ was designed to be reintroduced into the home – especially the Nigerian home – as an heirloom object, keeping warm memories alive through new tactile encounters.
Product Innovation / Specification:
The Nchọ board is an example of cultural continuity through design. It harmonizes function and expression through design, heritage-making research, & modes of display. Though inspired by the vast approaches to board design across Africa, Nchọ is the result of an intentional engagement with the woodworking traditions of the Igbo people, taking specific cues; rhythmic lines carved into the wood show you just where to open it & its globular form is a nod to both small personal effigies, which carry meaning to a person, & towering sculptural columns in meeting houses built for community interaction. In this way, the board celebrates both modes: drawing people together to play and remember how to play, and being an object of beauty within a personal space. When not in play, Nchọ transitions to a display object as it magnetizes to a metal wall bracket, an accompaniment boldly demonstrating how utilitarian hardware can exist sculpturally within the African design ethos.
The Nchọ board is an example of cultural continuity through design. It harmonizes function and expression through design, heritage-making research, & modes of display. Though inspired by the vast approaches to board design across Africa, Nchọ is the result of an intentional engagement with the woodworking traditions of the Igbo people, taking specific cues; rhythmic lines carved into the wood show you just where to open it & its globular form is a nod to both small personal effigies, which carry meaning to a person, & towering sculptural columns in meeting houses built for community interaction. In this way, the board celebrates both modes: drawing people together to play and remember how to play, and being an object of beauty within a personal space. When not in play, Nchọ transitions to a display object as it magnetizes to a metal wall bracket, an accompaniment boldly demonstrating how utilitarian hardware can exist sculpturally within the African design ethos.
Product Sustainability Approach:
Nchọ is intentionally being produced with care, quality, and local economic viability as priority. Boards will be made locally for each target market. For the African market, the goal is to source kiln-dried wood locally (Nigeria), set up a training workshop in Nigeria (Lagos, Port-Harcourt or Enugu) where artisans can receive training CNC milling and produce the boards with a "hand plus machine" approach; milled boards are assembled on-site and some board editions are finished with a free-hand carving on their front faces by skilled carvers. Glass playing seeds will be sourced on the continent (Kenya or Ghana) highlighting that making tradition. I'm also exploring using the sawdust from the CNC process and a bio-binder to create playing seeds.
Nchọ is intentionally being produced with care, quality, and local economic viability as priority. Boards will be made locally for each target market. For the African market, the goal is to source kiln-dried wood locally (Nigeria), set up a training workshop in Nigeria (Lagos, Port-Harcourt or Enugu) where artisans can receive training CNC milling and produce the boards with a "hand plus machine" approach; milled boards are assembled on-site and some board editions are finished with a free-hand carving on their front faces by skilled carvers. Glass playing seeds will be sourced on the continent (Kenya or Ghana) highlighting that making tradition. I'm also exploring using the sawdust from the CNC process and a bio-binder to create playing seeds.
Local and Regional Impacts of the Product:
My desire is to produce this board as sustainably as possible, investing in local skill and prioritizing locally/regionally sourced material and production power. This will have a direct impact on economic improvement, skill growth and artisan hubs in Nigeria. Since exhibiting the first prototype in Lagos, people have responded joyfully to the object as it triggers nostalgia and treasured memories of playing as children or with older family members. In my exhibition booth people of all ages were telling stories of playing as children, teaching each other different ways to play, and expressing their desire to bring Nchọ home. This board will have a lasting cultural impact in the homes of many as it reintroduces this beloved game as an heirloom object.
My desire is to produce this board as sustainably as possible, investing in local skill and prioritizing locally/regionally sourced material and production power. This will have a direct impact on economic improvement, skill growth and artisan hubs in Nigeria. Since exhibiting the first prototype in Lagos, people have responded joyfully to the object as it triggers nostalgia and treasured memories of playing as children or with older family members. In my exhibition booth people of all ages were telling stories of playing as children, teaching each other different ways to play, and expressing their desire to bring Nchọ home. This board will have a lasting cultural impact in the homes of many as it reintroduces this beloved game as an heirloom object.
Lead Designer(s) Name(s):Zoë Chinonso Ene
Profile Description:
Homenkà is a young, award-winning design studio and research collective dedicated to making objects and posing questions that continue culture collectively. Grounded by the belief that African design carries weight beyond aesthetic signifiers and generalizations, our work honors the indispensable value of Nigerian heritage, material culture, and making knowledge by keeping them alive in present contexts; out of museums and into the hands and minds, spaces and imaginations of Nigerian makers and everyday people. Homenkà is committed to documenting, storytelling, and synthesizing these enduring
Homenkà is a young, award-winning design studio and research collective dedicated to making objects and posing questions that continue culture collectively. Grounded by the belief that African design carries weight beyond aesthetic signifiers and generalizations, our work honors the indispensable value of Nigerian heritage, material culture, and making knowledge by keeping them alive in present contexts; out of museums and into the hands and minds, spaces and imaginations of Nigerian makers and everyday people. Homenkà is committed to documenting, storytelling, and synthesizing these enduring
Previous Awards Won:
BIG SEE Product Design Award (Home) • 2024
BIG SEE Product Design Award (Home) • 2024
